Grate bar for fine fuel



' 1927. I I H. A. ELLIS GRATE BAR FOR FINE FUEL Filed March 7. 1924 I 2Sheets-Sheet 1 June 28, 1927. 1,633,93T

' H. A. ELLIS GRATE BAR FOR FINE FUEL Filedflarh v, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Patented June 28, 1927.

UNITED STATES HUMPHREY A. ELLIS, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

YGR'AQTE BAR ron FINE FUEL.

Application filed March 7, 1924. Serial No. 697,456.

My invention relates to grates intended to burn fine fuel such as thevarious grades of buckwheat, rice and barley anthracite coals.

The main purpose of my invention is to increase the cross sect-ion ofair port opening per unit of grate surface, and hence to reduce theresistance of air flow through the grate, and at the same time toprevent the coal from falling through the grate.

A further purpose is to provide air fee-d openings in the form of slotsvertical at their upper sidesand offset ortransversely directed at theirlower sides to prevent passage of fuel. I

A further purpose is to provide a feed passage for air with atransverse, preferabl diagonal lower surface to permit natural passageof ashes while avoiding: passage of fuel.

Further purposes will appear inthe specification and in the claims.

I prefer to illustrate my invention by two forms thereof only, selectingforms which are practical, efficient, economical and which at the sametime well illustrate the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of one form of my invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are side and end elevations respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section of Figure 1 taken upon line 4 l.

Figure 5 is atop plan View of a second form of my invention.

Figures 6 and 7 are side and end elevations respectively of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a section of Figure 5 taken upon line 8- 8. i

In the drawingssimila-r numerals indicate like parts.

' Describing in illustration andnot in limitation and: referring to thedrawings The grate shown in Figures14 comprises a single integralcasting 10, having atop surface 11 and upon its under face beingprovided with longitudinally extending ribs or truss members 12 withpermissibly lighter intermediate strengtl'iening members 13 and 13.

lVhatever the relative strength of the members 12 and 13, equal orotherwise, they provide spaces 14: between them from which slot openings15 receive their supply of air. Throug; these openings the air passes inop posit directions into preferably nnal I 16' Whose lower wal a shelves1? upon which ashes rest for a time on their ay to the ash pit. Thesepassages 16, 16 lead into preferably vertical passages 18, 18 whichextend to the upper surface of the grate.

I have shown the openings and passages in rows 19, across'the grate buthavingtheir greatest dimensions in a longitudinal direc tion rather thanin a transverse direction because of the preferred and naturallongitudinal extension of the trusses and strengthening'members. a

I I thus provide in the upper surfaces ofthe gratebar, a plurality oflongitudinally extending spaced openings which maybe and ordinarily arelarge enough for-fuel to pass down into them but which are protectedfrom free flow of the fuel, .as long as the grate is horizontal ornearlyhorizontal, by the transverse lower wall 17 between thesepassages. These air inlets l5 afford outlets for the ashes; The surfaceof the grate at 20 and 21 at the sides-and across the ends of thepassages 18,: 18, i. e., between adjoining pairs of passages and at 22between the passages of the individual pairs affords support for thefuel; The passages taper clownwardly to prevent cloggingand passage 16is larger in width than passage 18. p

In order to give additional opportunity for air from'passages 1'8, 18"to permeate the coal bed I provide recesses 23 in the surface of thegrate connect-ing corresponding ends of adjoining passages 18 and-18 ofdifferent pairs, utilizing these recesses effectively as part of theoutlet for the respective passages 18, 18. I prefer to connect passageswhich are located side'by side (i. e., extend recesses 23 transversely)rather than to connect passages adjoining end-to-end, though this makesbut little difference.

The supporting bars or ribs may be of the usual-longitudinally taperedor beam form, as seen in F1gures2-t and the ends of the grate may bealike or different according to whether the grate extends entirelyacross the fire box or part way only; If part way only the ends whichadjoinlength-Wise should cooperate: as faras'possible, to present thesame character of surface and air feed about the joint as atintermediate parts of the length of each section. As shown, the ends arealike.

In the form g'hown I shaking bar 10" is shown intended to be pivoted.ass to be rocked, by means r in Figures 5 to 8, a

connections well known, engaging within opening of arm 26. Bothedgeshave been relieved, as at 27, 27, so as to permit shaking movement.with respect to the adjoining bar on each side. Nhcn back in positionthe side surfaces 28, 28 of inside bars rest substantially against sidesurfaces 28, 28 of other bars.

In this second form because of the slope which the grate bar surfacewill have when tilted, each opening 15 communicates with but one passage16, according to the direction of intended tilting,.to avoid therelatively'free passage for fuel through the grate which would beoffered by the other opening when the bar is tilted. The structure showntips in a countercloclnvise direc 1 tion with respect to Figures 7 and8, turning the lower surface 17 of the passage 16 more nearly horizontalwith the tilting movement and thus making it, when tilted, safer againstpassage of the fine coal through the openings than when the grate is inhorizontal position.

Recesses 23' are provided, similar to the recesses 28 in the form ofFigures 1 to 4t both in function and in the fact that they connecttogether at the top passages which have a common inlet opening below.

The strengthening ribs 13 are shown as vertical along the edge 29 and ashaving all of its slope along the edge 30.

It will be evident that the bent slots which I provide offer restingplaces which can be sloped in proportion for the needs of differentcoals and for different widths of passage so as suitably to retain theashes, preventing them from sifting through so completely as to allowlive coal to pass through. At the same time the ashes can readily becleared, either by agitation of the grate itself or of the bed close toits upper surface. Because of the bend and of the normal presence withinthe slots of some coal from time to time which has not been completelyconsumed, the slots do not become completely filled with ashes and thereis spacefor passage of air along the upper side of the U-shaped passageas well as through the body of coal or ashes itself.

Evidently the character of passage formed permits a maximum amount ofair opening per unit of grate surface, a special advantage in theburning of line coal.

It will be obvious that the features of my invention may be used invariant forms and with considerable variety of non-essential my purposetherefore to include herein all such variations and changes as comewithin the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let ters Patent is 1. A. grate bar having longitudinallyextending strengthening ribs on the unoer surface thereof and diagonalopenings sloping upwardly and away from each other from common inlets onthe under side of the bar between the ribs and communicating with spacedvertically extending openings to the upper face of the grate.

2. A fixed grate having ribs and longitudinally extending,longitudinally and laterally spaced air inlets between the ribs twopassages sloping oppositely from each inlet and vertical passagescommunicating with the first named passages and opening through thesurface of the grate.

3. A fixed grate having longitudinally extendingstrengthening ribs,longitudinalh; extending and longitudinally and laterally spaced airinlets between the ribs, two passages extending oppositely from eachinlet and vertical passages communicating with the first named passagesand opening through the surface of the grate, recesses below the surfaceof the grate to connect vertical passages communicating with dif ferentinlets below the grate.

4;. In a grate bar having longitudinally and lateral spaced passagesthrough the upper surface and recesses at the surface to connectadjoining passages of different pairs and having passages communicatingwith the first passages of the same pair and ex tending in a directionat an angle with the first passages with common air inletopenings andlongitudinally extending strengthening ribs between the air inletopenings.

5. A grate having longitudinally extending strengthening ribs below thesurface and U-shaped passages open for air inlet below between the ribsand open for air outlet at the surfaceof the grate and the said ribsbeing recessed at the surface to connect the air outlets.

6. 1' grate having longitudinally extending strengthening ribs below thesurface and U-shaped passages open for air inlet below between the ribsand open for air outlet at the surfacevof the grate and the said ribsbeing recess-ed at the surface to connect adjoining outlets of differentU-shaped passages.

HUMPHREY A. ELLIb.

